PLEASE READ!
This is one of three parts I wrote about this AU. I'm not sure if I should translate the other two parts as well or just continue with the other Oneshots. Feel free to let me know about your opinion in the reviews! I'm thinking about maybe combining all three parts to one chapter one day, too, I don't know-
Also this AU was kind of inspired by the same labeled song. watch?v=0f_hewSrAH4
Late Goodbye (Drama - Kenny/Butters)
Slowly, I press down the accelerator. The chugging engine hums a little under my sole and makes the whole car vibrate harder than it already does. Or should I call it a fricking piece of shit? Hard to say, there wasn't any better one available. At least not with the small bit of money my parents got. My dad just couldn't afford a proper car, on the contrary, he should feel lucky to even own a simple functioning set of wheels. And this pile of junk is what I stole tonight. Like the fucking motherfucker I am. Maybe I'm supposed to feel bad about this all at some point, though not anymore when I think about my parents never really caring the slightest whenever it had been about me. Back then I used up tones of cigarette packs without furder ado and already ended up with alcohol poisoning now and then. To that time no one gave a fuck about that, not even those three kids I once called friends. They'd rather grin and rag me about it so I'm more than sure that they wouldn't care less if I just take my leave today.
Well okay, there is one person who actually gives a shit about me. And he's sitting right next to me in the passenger seat, staring at his cell phone in silence. In addition to the high beam and the lights on the highway, it's the only source of light that illuminates the interior of the car. Radio's not on so everything is quiet but the car itself. I risk a look out of the corner of my eye at the boy with similar hair color. The display shines at his face and I see it reflecting on his tears. No wonder that he's crying. He's completely overwhelmed by the whole situation and doesn't know how to deal with it. According to him not even sobbing like he usually does, he probably doesn't want me to notice anything.
"Did you message your dad?" I decide to interrupt the silence with my eyes back on the street in front of me. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He's way too nice. His dad doesn't even deserve to look at him for just a second. And yet, Butters still protects him so often that I simply can not understand. How in the fucking world can you be so kindhearted and damned naive to forgive an asshole who won't change anyway the same bad mistake over and over again?
"Yes...", he breathes out with a slightly nodding head and looks out the window, at all the trees that rush past us. He seems to still feel obligated to inform his parents about him leaving and that, in this case, will never return. Probably with a thousand apologies packed in it and how much he loves them. For fuck's sake, he finally has to realize that he comes from a family in which domestic violence is on a daily schedule and that it's definitely not okay! He doesn't have to let anyone know now, especially not these fuckers. Even though his mom never really beat him, she always just watched his dad doing the dirty work and directly lied to my face as soon as I asked them what the fuck was going on. Misleading bitch.
I sigh. "You know that I don't approve of that, especially not because you probably told them you're going to run off with this Kenny guy just because he thinks they're shitty." Maybe a little too harsh of mine just now but after all those years of being in the same class, he should know me well enough by now. I don't often mean it that way, I'm merely from a more than messed up household where one expresses themselves far more vulgar than this snide remark I made here. I sure admit that I regret it a little though.
"I didn't tell them I was going away with you...", is what I hear quietly from him and I blink in surprise. Then ciao, pangs of conscience. "I just wrote that I'll be gone forever and that they shouldn't come after me... and that I still love them regardless..." There we go with the naive thing.
"I know, I'm proud of you."
"Proud... why?"
"Because you're doing so well and that you trust me of course. You won't feel well at home anymore, believe me." I explain and briefly turn my head to him, giving my statement more credibility through set eye contact.
You barely notice the redness around his eyes in the bad light. It looks like he wiped some tears away to look normal. He still seems to think that I haven't caught him howling since he attempts to smile which he fails damn hard. As I said before, difficult and most of all risky situation in which we're currently in. However, I'm in cheerful spirits that everything works out without any complications. After all, there had been weeks of planning, including a lot of part-time jobs for a start-up capital and a hotel reservation quite far away from the shithole of mountain town. So we shouldn't have to worry about anything.
I feel his head slowly sinking onto my shoulder. According to what he told me this morning, he couldn't sleep last night due to nervousness and uncertainty. I'd gladly let him make up for it now though. It'll be a while before we get there anyway. It shouldn't be the nearest city after all, no, I already planned to drive for a few hours. To be honest a little too much for someone who doesn't have a driver's license and has been shown only a few things by his parents, more or less voluntarily. But for me and Butters, I'm willing to do anything. I can take enough breaks and no one's driving at this late hour, certainly not on this route.
"Turn off your phone then if you finished writing everyone." I try to request with as much compassion as possible. "We don't want someone trying to follow us after all." Would be too annoying if it does go wrong because of a simply overlooked detail.
Butters looks at all the messages he's written in the last few minutes for the last time. Thankfully, it doesn't look like anyone already read them to react in time. I catch a glimpse of his parents' names, Cartman, Sandy, Kyle, Stan, and Wendy until the small window asking for shutdown confirmation pops up. Actually, I'd rather have his phone confiscated or thrown out of the fucking car from the very beginning before he could have even thought of texting anyone but I just couldn't let myself do anything more to his already damaged nerves. It sure is dangerous to let him but is necessary to get him to stay calm and trust me. I know pretty well that I'm the only one with whom he would ever run away from home, in this case drive. And speaking of driving, I have no legal permission for it after all, so one more reason not to put his faithfulness towards me on thin ice.
"Well done. Together we'll be way better off without our parents." I praise him with a smile. If I wouldn't be driving to this moment, I'd definitely ruffle through his hair by now. A pity he doesn't really know something like that. Well, me neither, I just overheard it from a conversation between to boys. If you want to praise your son you do it that way apparently. I don't know if I've been playing an actual dad role for Butters. However, I now get confronted with a pretty strange question.
"Say... are we lovers?"
"Huh? What gives you that idea?" I ask a little confused and I feel my heart stop for a second. What makes him think that way? 'Cause we spent so much time together and accordingly went through thick and thin? Or because I developed quite a sense of protection for him, mainly because I've been seeing myself in him?
"I only know about young couples doing this kind of thing... since their love was not tolerated by both of their families and any kind of contact was forbidden..." Ah, that cheesy stuff. Although I have to say that more or less both parents of us aren't really positively minded about our friendship. Mine haven't been liking the Stotchs from the start and his hate me because I'm forcing my say in their raising methods. And the saddest thing is that I'm the only one doing so. Others haven't heard of the bad circumstances at Butters' home because he's living an outsider's life.
"That... Yes, that may be.", I trot out, still a bit out of it. Although I actually didn't want to say it that way and didn't know why. Probably because I just don't know how to respond to something sudden and random like that.
Accordingly, I'm astonished to see Butters' eyes flash up. "But we never kissed or had any feelings for each other..."
"That's true but why should only couples be allowed to run away and not friends, too?"
"Again, you're right... I just didn't know it like that till now..."
"No problem."
Maybe not necessarily the best subject of a conversation but still much better for me than the depressed mood a few moments ago. So I'm throwing in a playful "then we'll be the first time friends run away" just to get Butters' mood back up a little. Fortunately, a smile appears on his lips.
So it's settled. Friends who run away like lovers, without feelings, only friendship. How crappy that actually sounds, I have to refrain from laughing.
But just like everything else, I only do it for Butters.